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The Acton Free Press Wednesday Aug 31 977 Remember business people The longdrawn out construction on Main following a similar pro blem on Mill is creating concern for business people in the area Loss of business on Main is ob vious and perhaps fellow Acton- tans could give special consider ation to the plight of the people who make their living in that area of town Some of them are losing a great deal of money The whole area is enveloped in dust on dry days as the work in ches northward On Friday when the tieups were particularly bad it took as much as an hour to get past the flagmen at the construction site Its a place to avoid if possible as the businessmen are finding out Dont forget them Jt Signs of the times Exeter is another town that has just started restoring its old town hall The exeter Times Advocate reports that the cement in front of the building is being replaced with landscaping new washrooms and furnace are being installed the fry being rebuilt and the brickwork cleaned and repaired This old town hall included an old clock similar to that our former post office and the clock faces were removed for repainting The clocks works will also be repaired A committee is planning fund- raising there too The paper reports consideration given to con certs a canvass celebrity auction operating a food booth at the fall fair rodeo and sidewalk sales days Senior citizens are consider ing a craft shop the restored town hall A new Horizons grant would pay for the installation of the shop and provide funds for equip ment and materials Commercial space in the hat will be rented As in Acton the council used to meet there and the building for merry housed the police offices It also housed the fire hall but the paper doesnt indicate where the fire hall has been moved to The restoration of town halls and old buildings is obviously a com occurrence throughout Ont ario We understand Halton Hills is to appoint a local heritage committee which would determine which buildings should be saved Its a sign of the times Fire hall addition expensive How ridiculous can we get Hills council wants to spend for an addition to the Acton fire hall which the fire fighters dont want Firefighters told council last week they felt is too much to spend for an addition which would provide no more parking which they think is a prerequisite for any Acton fire hall Were only getting two more fire bays for spokesman Phil McCnstall told council He said if the cost had only been then the firefighters might have been more amenable to the addition but the 200000 figure was too much for the facilities it would provide We realize the firefighters have waffled some on the question but it does seem ridiculous to go ahead on the project if the fire fighters are willing to wait until better suggestions are produced to solve the space and parking problems They suggested the townowned land near Acton high school mtght be better for an entire new fire hall than adding to the present building an adjunct to Actons historic old town hall which citizens are trying to restore And they also suggested the cost might not be any more if council is going to spend that kind of money Council according to Councillor Pat could sell the land they own for building lots which could net the town as much as Theyd rather keep the firefighters where they are and come up with adequate parking although the fire hall is in an area where there is sure to be an in crease in business places and a need for more public parking spaces It is hard to follow councils reasoning although we can under stand their irritation at the fire fighters with whom they have been dickering for months The fire fighters request came as bomb shell to council especially those who had been working on the pro posal However it would be folly just to pursue the project because of inter council squabbles and miffed atti tudes about the citizens committee which wants to renovate the old town hall affixed to the fire hall Looking into the future it seems reasonable to assume the fire hall is going to be more and more of a handicap in its present location as Acton grows and business swells SUrely it makes more sense to hold up the tendering as Councillor suggested and send the proposal back to the works com mittee and the firefighters to come up with a solution to the impasse The firefighters have come up with a legitimate reason for not pursuing the project at this time As taxpayers of Halton Hills we should all be concerned about the value we get for Two extra fire bays is hardly good value And discontented volunteer firefighters drops the value further The Independent Georgetown Kilometres are coming All the miles of provincial highway will go metric on Sept ember Conversion of signs will begin on that day Replacing existing speed signs will take about two weeks Kilometres will replace miles and metres will replace yards In the United States the public was asked to comment on conver sion to metric system there The replies came in 98 per cent against the change In Canada we didnt get the chance to comment And now the change is upon us bringing us they say in line with many countries outside North America Expect for Manitoba And Manitoba simply opted out Great Britain still goes by the milo too Like it or not heres how it works 1 kilometres equals a mile So using this as a conversion factor you simply move the decimal point one place to the right and you see that km equals 10 miles Speed limits will be based on units of lOkmh For example kmh replaces 25mph 50 kh replaces 30 mph kmh replaces 50 mph 100 kmh replaces mph Get used to the change now and youll be a kilometre ahead of everybody else around here on September Of this and that There have been quite a few people riding horses in town this summer If they have to cross Main perhaps its the fastest way Appreciation to the playground and day camp leaders who pro vided a happy and busy summer for so many children this year Holidays are Just about over and many of the youngsters seem just about ready to head back to school t0 were We need a return to the good old days dinosaurs all over Now there are cars and funny when a flying whatsit like myself was free to be a looking two legged things that talk a lot I dont un flying myself Sugar and spice This lb being written from a hospital bed where I am in traction and under heavy sedation Don t worry I wasn t in a car crash I just had a fiveday visit from my grand boys It seems that my was moving and it was going to be awfully difficult with the boys underfoot and it was a great chance for Gran and Grandad to really have a good visit with their favorite people untrammtled by the interventions of parents Sorry but we like to play golf in the afternoon spend a quiet evening and get up when feel like it in the morning during holidays Of course you can You burble some thing like No problem dear Wedlovt to have them It be a real treat And then you hang up the phone look at your better half and mutter mournfully Good Gawd the kids are coming They came they saw they conquered And that why I writing from hospital As soon as I get out of traction they re moving me permanently to a place called Autumn Date a home for chronic grand fathers to eke out their Inst few months exchanging senile horror stones about grandchildren Oh well it may not be so bad My wife says she II come and visit me regularly except during the golf skiing fall and sewing seasons That means once in March and once in November She promised to bring me a drink on each occasion because my nerves arc shot to hell too But that a long time between mickey It t that my grandsons arc bad kids They re not It Just that they are three and a half and one and a half years old and their favorite sport indoon and out is tormenting the living daylights out of each other I irst ftw days wertn bad The Old has a way with them She can change diaper on one and carry on an incredibly conversation with the other v getting a hair out of place She can sit at the sewing machine with one on each knee and actually sew as they try to poke their fingers under the needle When cooking she plops them up on the counter beside the stove where the older one asks questions all beginning with why and the one opens the cupboard doors and bangs his eye on them and shrieks During this period my role was a fairly passive one All I had to do was get them their breakfast Nothing to that I give them each a can of yogurt and half a banana dessert I open a can of peaches and get the ice cream out It may not be your standard unimagin cereal breakfast but the boys go for it and seem to thrive on it And then of course when they ve fin ished breakfast and are in a great mood there s not much for me to do Except let them play around on over me break up eight fights over whose ball or shovel it Is and serve as a trampoline when they line up at the far end of the living room run as hard as they can and hurl them selves headfirst into Grandads lap almost invariably knocking heads toge ther with subsequent recriminations howling and both of them on my knees being comforted But before you know it lunch is over believe the storekeeper described them as a matched set of lawn ornaments it snap time No goes down happily with a bottle No 1 requires six stones If I read the one about and one more time 1 II go out of what Is left of my mind But it works He gets groggy Just as he drifting off No hurls the bottle out of his crib leaps up rattles the bars yells for action and both are wide awake ready for More Fun And Games With Grandad Afternoons in the backyard are com par atively peaceful except for one thing For misguided reason I have only one lawn hose Did you ever see two boys with one hose between them Older is stronger wrests hose from Younger and squirts him with icecold water Younger bellows runs to Grandad soaking from head to foot and jumps up to be loved and petted Older forgets hose and starts to climb gate Grandad yells Meantime Younger has picked up hose and gleefully squirts Grandad Grandad yells again Younger drops hose and runs square into square corner of picnic table Great welt on forehead Gran will be furious with Grandad for not watching boys properly Those were the good days Came Tuesday and Gran was committed to a golf tournament Dubiously Who me Course I can cope No sweat I can handle these two with one head tied behind my back Well maybe but Gawn away yez It be child play And it was Six hours of It During which eight fights were broken up the boys ate all four of the chicken legs I d pre pared for the three of us we went shop ping and I lost one for panic filled seconds In the maze of the supermarket the Younger discovered how to unfasten the buckle of the seat belt the Older started yelling for his Mommy when I smacked his bum for clobbering his little brother with a ping pong bat which for some reason unknown to man or God he had found behind the car seat My daughter walked in with a cheery Hi Dad and found me on the phone trying to call the police department the fire department anybody She looked at me shook her head took the phone from my shaking fingers and called an ambulance Of this and that Can you help as a Guide or Brownie leader Volunteers are badly needed An advertisement gives the numbers to call Congratulations to Acton Citizens Band who added to their ex perience by entering the com petitions at the Exhibition again this year They knew they would be playing against bands twice their size and they felt well satisfied with their fourth place showing The judges comments were grati fying too Taken from the Issue of the Free Press Wednesday August IBS A former Miss Acton Fair Linda son has completed her grade 13 at Erin high school and will be a nurseIn training Starting Tuesday 37 business places will be participating In Old Fashioned Days This is the first venture of this type for Acton merchants Top honors at Ottawa Central Canada Exhibition went to the stables of S G Matthews R Acton when his pony Carousel Torch Swell won the grand championship Councillor Ted Tyler Jr s proposal to turn Mill St from Main to John Into a shopping mall merits serious consideration from the towns elected representatives Of the ideal dozen Guide and Brownie leaders the local groups are starting the new season with Just one leader Z Bennett this week is moving to Waterloo Acton has been fortunate In having her as an exemplary citizen for 60 years 20 years ago Taktn from the Issue of the Free Press Septembers 1957 Acton has reached fame In the movie field with the representation of two German Shepherd dogs owned and trained by Fred of this town Prince and Nigger as the dogs are named are playing in a Regal Film production A Boy and His Dog starring 11 yearold Anthony B Brown of Willowdale For the past two weeks Prince has been performing in front of the cameras in the role of a canine hero while Nigger plays the part of the canine villain A blowout of a right front tire resulted in the complete destruction of a car as it rolled over in the east ditch while proceeding south on the seventh line Monday The 18- year old driver Robert Taylor of R R Acton escaped from the wreckage un injured reported investigating officer Constable Dave Hardy of the District OPP Judy Duby eight yearold daughter of Mr and Mrs Ah Acton had an fortunate accident at school yesterday when she tnpped over some roots of a tree and fell breaking her left arm She was taken to Guelph General hospital and is ex home today 50 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press of Thursday September A rink of Acton bowlers participated in a tournament at Paris at which rinks were competing The had three wins The rink was composed of A Buchanan T Bailey E Sweeney and J Gould skip The harvest is practically finished Not before in the hundred years since this dis trict was settled have there been better crops The Bronte Ladies team invaded Acton on Saturday and after a close and ex citing gome nosed out an IS to victory Unfortunately Acton was without the vices of sterling player Mary Chalmers and the pitcher work was taken up by Merrill Anderson who had an injured hand Oral Chalmers and her home run led the hitters and Isabel I scared four runs Rev Charles Jolhffe of West con ducted services at United Church 100 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press of Thursday J Things have been lively at the hop yards On Monday there were pickers at work in one of Mr Matthews yards and 50 in the other Yesterday picking was commenced in Mr Sydney Smith s yard and it was the scene of a busy throng of people of all ages Mr Charles Dean travelling agent for Messrs W H Storey and Co came home quite 111 some days ago We are sorry to learn that his symptoms are quite an alarming nature Our readers will remember the swindling case wherein Mr James Gibbons was made the victim of an oily stranger George Zimmerman the sharper was sentenced to ore year imprisonment High living t killing many people now a days Mr Armstrong has reduced the price of milk to four cents a quart Best Medical Wines and Brandy at McGarvin Hall of Pharmacy THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Business and Editorial Office